A reporter at 404 Media recently used an Udio-generated track and a distribution loophole to put a fake single on the verified profiles of a real band, and the lockdown that prevents most of this takes about an afternoon. The band is Lathe of Heaven, a Brooklyn punk group. According to 404 Media's reporting, the fake song appeared on their profiles at Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal and Amazon Music, with vocals and artwork that had nothing to do with anything the band released.
The point of the story is not that AI music exists. It is that a verified badge does not stop a stranger's upload from landing on your page. If you have not claimed your profiles, you will not see it happen. You will hear about it from a fan, weeks later.
Why the volume is climbing
More AI audio is being generated every month, and the supply of training material is part of the reason. A r/musicindustry thread (371 points at the time of writing) discusses a court filing in which Suno reportedly admitted using yt-dlp to pull audio from YouTube. Treat the thread as discussion and read the filing itself for the specifics. The practical takeaway for an artist is simple: more tools, more uploads, more chances that one of them gets attached to your name.
Claim every artist profile
An unclaimed profile is the easiest one to abuse, because nobody is watching it. Do these first.
- Claim and verify your profile in Spotify for Artists.
- Claim and verify your profile in Apple Music for Artists.
- Repeat for Tidal and Amazon Music, which were both hit in the Lathe of Heaven case.
- Use an email address you control long term, not a former bandmate's inbox.
- Add a second team member as admin so access does not depend on one person.
Claiming does not make a fake upload impossible. It gives you the dashboard where you can see it and the reporting tools to act on it.
Set up alerts and a weekly search
Turn on release notifications wherever the platform offers them, so a release you did not make shows up the same day instead of the same month. Also follow your own artist page from a fan account, so new releases surface in a normal feed.
Then put a recurring 10-minute check on your calendar. Once a week, search your exact name inside each DSP and scroll your Releases and Appears On tabs. Look for:
- Singles you never delivered.
- Artwork you do not recognize.
- Credits listing a distributor or label you have never worked with.
- Tracks under a similar name that are linked to your profile.
Weekly is frequent enough to catch a fake before it collects a real streaming history, and cheap enough that you will actually keep doing it.
Know your takedown path before you need it
Find your distributor's takedown or content-dispute contact now and save it somewhere your whole team can reach. When a fake appears, the clock matters, and nobody wants to hunt for a support page while fans are already streaming it.
Keep a short record for each incident: the track link, a screenshot, the date you found it, and who you contacted. Then file the profile mismatch report from your artist dashboard on each platform. A distributor can only remove what it delivered, and the fake upload usually came through someone else's account, so you will often need to work both channels at once: the DSP report and the distributor of record, if the track lists one.
Tell your list before anyone else does
A fake single spreads through the fans who trust your name. If your real audience is only reachable through the platform where the fake sits, you have no way to correct it.
Build a direct line now. On BCKSTG, fans who sign up land on your Guest List, and you can send a text or an email from your own number and account. If a track appears that is not yours, send a short note: it is not ours, here is the real release link, please report it. Fans who hear that from you stop sharing the fake and start reporting it.
Also keep a single canonical page for every real release so fans have somewhere to confirm what is official. Your BCKSTG profile at bckstg.co/yourhandle can serve that role, with each release linked to the platform versions you actually delivered.
Quick checklist
- Claim profiles on Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal and Amazon Music.
- Add a second admin to each.
- Turn on release notifications.
- Search your name weekly in each DSP.
- Save your distributor's takedown contact.
- File mismatch reports and keep screenshots.
- Build a direct list so you can correct the record the same day.
Does claiming my profile stop fake uploads?
No. It gives you visibility and reporting access. Based on the 404 Media account, fake tracks can still be attached to a verified profile, which is why the weekly search matters.
Who removes the fake track?
Usually both the platform and the distributor that delivered it. File the mismatch report in your artist dashboard and contact the distributor listed on the track, if one is shown.
How often should I check?
Weekly is a reasonable floor. Check on release week and any time a fan mentions a song you do not recognize.
Do I need a mailing list for this?
It is not required to file reports, but it is the fastest way to tell fans a track is not yours before they treat it as your new single.